"And the coloured girls go Doo do doo do doo do do doo."
“White heat” was one of my favorite cuts. Phenomenal guitarists on that album “Rock and Roll Animal.”
“Sweet Jane”
http://www.metrolyrics.com/sweet-jane-lyrics-lou-reed.html
That’s his really great song in my opinion.
Have a few of his albums, Coney Island Baby, he was a real New Yorker I guess, lots of good stuff and Metal Machine Music too.
I remember when he got his liver transplant this year. Still not clear what happened to Lou Reed.
The wikipedia article says he got electro-shock (actually electro-convulsive) therapy as a teenager.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Reed
71 is way, way, too young for anyone. Must have been the unstressed life he lead.
I enjoyed his music. Rest in Peace.
How does a 71 year old guy who was/is a heroin addict - alcoholic get a liver transplant? Here he is dead a few months after getting one, meanwhile I don’t even have to guess some kid has died because they couldn’t get one. Reminds me of when John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas got a liver transplant after being a coke and heroin addict for years, then after he gets the transplant they caught him in a bar “breaking the new liver in” in HIS words! Same with Mickey Mantle, another boozer gets a transplant then dies. WTF?
First album I ever owned was “Rock N Roll Animal”. Still play Intro to Sweet Jane as loud as the stereo will allow.
Also a deeply troubled and often unhappy individual whose personal demons interfered with his art and his life.
He will be missed - he represents the end of an era.
Married to Laurie Anderson, arguably a more talented musician.
I remember seeing Lou Reed in Detroit in the 70’s so high on reds (Secobarbital or Secanol) that he had to be propped up against a Marshal amplifier while his gay lover told all the women in the crowd that he knew they were jealous of him.
Yikes.
No more Lou for me after that.
WANTEDLou Reed
For turning an entire generation of young Americans into faggot junkies.
Metal Machine Music, best I could describe it is white noise, more similar to leaving a fan, air conditioner or the like on at night rather than something like Brian Eno. I wonder if anyone else has here has hear it, it’s unlistenable. They say he did it to honor a contract.
http://www.allmusic.com/album/metal-machine-music-mw0000099717
Yes, Lou was a bit on the wild side, guy seemed to be a real poet so that is how I listened to his music, I’ve listened to the album with Robert Hunter, Rock and Roll Animal a few times this year. But a lot of Reed’s stuff like Berlin is poetry and some of it I thought were just morbid things to tell the truth.
I liked his Berlin album the best. I heard it first when I was in Rota, Spain. The cuts Lady Day, Caroline Says, or The Bed, with that line; “They’re Taking Her Children Away”, and the baby crying in the background. Lush and , indulgent and ponderous, in a good way. Lou seemed tired and burnt out for the last twenty years. Good for him, that he found love and comfort with Laurie Anderson, an extremely bright, creative performer. Age and fashion happen to us all, so most today don’t know about Laurie or Lou except for that one beer drinker’s hit ‘Wild Side’. Satelite of Love is very simple and sweet. Anyone could plink a piano and make that song sound good, the way it’s structured with a soft cascade of refrains.
The Gift
Velvet Underground
Rest in peace, Lou Reed.
Brooklyn baby.
For the past 2 months i’ve been listening to Sweet Jane and Rock n Roll on a daily basis. The original Velvet Underground versions.
RIP .. that one alone was enough for a legacy.
I liked Lou.
Bought ‘Transformer’ the day it was released. At that time, every album David Bowie touched turned to gold, and ‘Transformer’ was one of them. Mott the Hoople’s album (I forget the title) with “Sweet Jane’ was another.
I heard an interview with Lou a few years ago. He said he found it easier to write songs when somebody gave him “an assignment”, ie, “Hey Lou, why don’t you write a song about...”
RIP, Lou Reed
...And another piece of my youth.
Ping
RIP Lou Reed, one of the best.
Rest in peace, Lou.
Jesus
Help me find my
Proper place